OCR Text |
Show it function? Indians Of North, South And Central America Present A Similar Indian Problem There are abundant evidences of the need for such a permanent clearing house on matters relating to the Indians of the Americas. The several countries of North, South, and Central America have among their citizenry ample numbers of Indians. In some of these countries they constitute a large percentage of the population, in others they represent small minority groups for whom the Government has some concern one way or another„ Ever since the white settlers landed on the shores of the Americas, the governments, first of the European nations and then of the American Republics, have concerned themselves with the Indian as a more or less separate race with more or less of peculiar characteristics, and with strengths, weaknesses and needs which demand special attention of the governments. It is strange that, through centuries of dealing with the Indian problem, representatives of the governments and of the interested societies have not until now gathered to share their experiences and to interchange ideas and technologies. The Example Of Policy Reversed During Recent Years As a result of this failure to compare notes and to interchange experiences, there has developed among the several countries a perhaps excessive divergence of empirical approaches in dealing with Indians. Even within a given country the approach varies greatly from one year to another, or from one political administration to another. In our own country, for instance, a generation ago, the Indian was considered |